Moonlight Cove

“Hello, Dolly. It’s a musical. Susie and I saw the revival recently. She’s a matchmaker.”

Jake groaned. “Please do not tell a lot of people that you, once a Chesapeake Shores and college gridiron star, are going to girly musicals these days. It’ll destroy your fine reputation as one of the town’s all-time great bachelors. You’ll no longer be considered a player on the dating scene. In fact, it’s entirely likely you’ll never have another date.”

“He doesn’t need another date,” Will said. “He already has Susie.”

“Who is obviously a very bad influence,” Jake said.

Mack frowned at him. “Do I need to point out that your wife produces plays at her fancy new Chesapeake Shores Theater, including, I might add, the occasional musical? You planning to attend?”

Jake winced. “That’s spousal obligation, not choice. There’s a difference.”

“Will, do you buy that? Is it different?”

“I’m not mediating this one, guys,” Will declared emphatically. “You’re on your own.”

He was going back to his office to see if he could find the woman of his dreams. Maybe she was right around the corner, though if she was, he ought to have stumbled across her long before now.

For the first time since the previous Friday, Will opened his email Monday afternoon to check the new applications for membership in the Lunch by the Bay online dating service. There were a half dozen that had come in over the weekend. He’d input the data from three of them, when he spotted those submitted by Laila, Connie and Jess. His eyes widened. Laila and Connie were one thing, but Jess? What was he supposed to do about her?

Since she’d submitted her credit card payment with her application, professional integrity absolutely required that he put the data into the system and see if his criteria matched her with anyone. The churning in his gut, however, told him to delete the application as if he’d never seen it. He didn’t want to be the man who helped Jess walk off into the sunset with someone else. She might ultimately do that anyway, but he didn’t want to be the one who’d facilitated it.

He wrestled with his conscience for a full ten minutes before he reluctantly fed the data into his system. He deliberately left his own information out of the equation. When the computer came back with no immediate matches, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He told himself to send back her money and tell her to reapply at a later date, but when it came time to push the send key, he couldn’t do it. He knew it was because he was a little too eager to reject her for his own reasons. For anyone else, he’d take a fresh look at the data in a few days. Much as he might not like it, he owed that to Jess, too.

As for Laila and Connie, he had an easier time with their applications. Three potential matches turned up almost immediately for Connie. He sent all of them mutual contact information. There were four possibilities for Laila. Astonishingly, one of the best matches, the man with whom she had the most in common, seemed to be him.

“No way,” he muttered. He’d never once thought of dating Trace’s younger sister…and yet, why not? Maybe this would be the best possible test of the criteria he was using. It was the first match that had come back for him with so many connections.

He’d almost convinced himself to call Laila, when it occurred to him that it was no coincidence that the applications from her, Connie and Jess had come in within minutes of each other on Saturday night. Had they sent them in as some kind of dare? And how would Jess react if he went out with Laila? Would she be offended that her friends had gotten dates and she hadn’t? Would it bother her in the slightest if Laila’s first date was him? And why should he care, anyway, if he was truly moving on as he’d sworn to himself he was doing?

Before he could change his mind, he picked up the phone and called Laila at the bank.

“Hey, Will, what’s up?” she said, her tone friendly.

“You’re probably not going to believe this, but we’ve been matched up by an online dating service,” he told her, not explaining that it was his business. She’d learn that soon enough.

“Lunch by the Bay?” she said. “You’re kidding! I didn’t expect anything to happen this quickly.”

“I’m as surprised as you are, but I thought maybe we should give it a try. Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?”

“Why not?” she said, then hesitated. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked. “Obviously we’re both looking for new ways to meet people, and if a computer says we’re compatible, I think we should at least check it out.”

“At least we’ll have a few laughs, right?”

“Exactly. What do you say?”

“What time and where?” she asked.

“Panini Bistro at noon? Or is there somewhere else you’d rather go?”

“I thought you always ate with Mack and Jake at noon,” she said, proving that his rut had been widely noted.

“I decided it was past time to shake up my routine,” he told her.

“Then count me in, and Panini Bistro is fine. I’ll see you there. Should I wear a red carnation behind my ear so you can spot me?” she asked with a laugh.

“Unless you’ve changed dramatically since dinner at the O’Briens a couple of Sundays ago, I think I’ll recognize you,” he said. He hesitated, then added, “Maybe we should keep this just between us for now. What do you think?”

“Are you ashamed to be seen in public with me, Will Lincoln?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

“If I were, we wouldn’t be going to lunch on Shore Road,” he assured her. “I just thought maybe low-key might be best till we see how this goes. Our friends might have quite a lot to say if they hear about it.”

“You wouldn’t be thinking about one friend in particular, would you?” Laila asked knowingly. “Is it Jess you’d prefer to keep in the dark?”

“Of course not!” Will said emphatically. “Why would she care one way or the other?”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m not all that great at keeping secrets, especially not from friends.”

“Okay, then,” Will said, resigned to the possibility that his lunch with Laila could stir up a commotion. “See you tomorrow.”

“Looking forward to it,” Laila said.

Will wished he could say the same. Instead, a feeling of dread had settled in his stomach. Any shrink worth his salt could have told him it was because he was playing with fire.

2

A few days after signing up for Lunch by the Bay, Jess checked her inbox online. “I don’t get this,” she muttered in frustration to Laila, who’d just dropped by the inn. “You and Connie both had responses almost immediately. I’ve had nothing, not even an acknowledgment that I’m signed up.”

“I’m sure that’s just an oversight,” Laila said, though Jess thought she looked oddly guilty when she said it.

“Do you know something I don’t?” Jess asked, studying her friend with a narrowed gaze.

“Of course not,” Laila responded a little too quickly. “Maybe the interests you wrote down were too narrow. The company promises someone with similar interests. It may be taking a little longer to find the right match. I’m sure not everyone hears right away. The important thing is that the person you’re eventually matched with is the right one.”

Jess shrugged it off. “It doesn’t really matter. I wasn’t counting on this anyway. How about running over to Sally’s and grabbing a bite to eat?”

Laila winced. “Sorry, I can’t. I have my first date.”

Jess stared at her, trying to judge the odd expression on her friend’s face. Laila looked more worried than excited. It wasn’t the reaction Jess had expected.

“Why didn’t you say something when you first walked in here?” she asked. “Who is he? Do you have a name? Where are you meeting him?”

“We’re meeting at Panini Bistro,” Laila said.

Again, Jess studied her intently. “It still feels as if you’re hiding something. Who is this man? Do I know him?”